Getty Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. celebrates against the Cincinnati Bengals in last year's AFC Championship.
The Kansas City Chiefs were doing such a great job of not providing any bulletin board material for a Cincinnati Bengals roster that appears to feed off doubt and disrespect — and then linebacker Willie Gay Jr. went and said this.
“What is it about that Bengals offense that maybe impresses you the most,” the reporter asked Gay (courtesy of Fox 4 KC’s PJ Green), to which the Chiefs defender replied: “Nothing.” He even reiterated the one-word response a second time just in case Cincy didn’t hear him at first.
Not many words from #Chiefs LB Willie Gay today but one thing stood out.
“What impresses you about that Bengals offense?”
“Nothing.”
As you can imagine, the video clip blew up immediately on Twitter, with over 4,500 likes and over 1.5 million views already. This off-the-field animosity goes back to last year’s AFC title game and the not-so-subtle beef between the two franchises. The latest page in that history book targeted Arrowhead Stadium’s name.
Gay made sure not to go too far with his response, but his one-word answer didn’t quite follow the Andy Reid guidebook on pregame chatter either. Needless to say, fans had mixed reactions on Gay’s comments.
Chiefs & Bengals Fans React to Willie Gay’s Bengals Insult
Despite the Patrick Mahomes injury, it felt like the Chiefs were building some momentum this week as more and more analysts began to peg them as the underdog. Typically, that’s the calling card of this Bengals team, and the role reversal may have actually be a good thing for Kansas City as they look to fly under the radar and get the job done.
Based on the KC media availability on January 25, it appeared that Coach Reid was orchestrating this devious plan to kill Cincinnati with kindness from the top-down, but Gay went off course with his “nothing” remark. To no surprise, Bengals fans applauded the deviation from the KC defender.
“First he points out that Andy Reid has told them not to do any talking and just play. Then he says that nothing impresses him about the Bengals offense,” one Cincy supporter wrote with face-palm emojis, quoting Gay in the beginning of the clip.
“There it is!!! Let’s go!!” Another commented, and a third said: “Hell yes. Burrowhead talk had me a liiiiiiittle nervous but….. This evens things and I’m feeling confident in Who Dey again lol.”
There were also a few Joe Burrow celebratory GIFs and this picture of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor with the caption, “live view of ZT seeing this [bulletin board material].”
@PJGreenTV Live view of ZT seeing this:
Chiefs fans weren’t as quick to come to Gay’s defense, although a couple posted popular responses under Green’s video.
“What do you want him to do? List every strength of the opposing team’s offense?” A KC supporter questioned. “You have to believe in YOURSELF to win. Not the other team. He’s locked in for his team.”
Another focused on Gay’s final quote, tweeting: “Bigger thing to note was the statement, ‘Stop the run….we know they’re gonna do that so they can act like they can big boy us.’ The Chiefs know this is gonna be a prize fight. Better be focused.”
Bengals Offense Has Plenty That Impresses
From an unbiased perspective, Gay may not be impressed by the Bengals offense but most people around the league are.
They have one of the only quarterbacks that rivals Mahomes in the clutch, an elite wide receiver corps including superstars like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — as well as Tyler Boyd as a very talented slot receiver — an above average playmaker in Joe Mixon at running back, a dual-threat tight end in Hayden Hurst, a highly thought of play-caller in Brian Callahan, and a revamped offensive line that has been better in 2022 than in previous seasons.
Gay didn’t have to voice all of that. He could have simply said the word “Burrow,” or “Chase,” and he would have been clear of the question. Instead, he might have just motivated the opponent, not to mention he contradicted himself in the process.
“Like Coach Reid said, we don’t do no talking, we just go handle business when it’s time to go,” the linebacker stated earlier in the interview. Maybe he should have taken his own advice.
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Chiefs Defender Makes Bold One-Word Statement on Bengals Offense